UFC Predictions: UFC Fight Night: Derrick Lewis vs. Tallison Teixeira

After a weekend without a UFC event, the promotion returns next weekend. This time, the octagon heads to Nashville for a Fight Night event.

UFC Fight Night: Derrick Lewis vs. Tallison Teixeira features a heavyweight main event, and to be fair, the rest of the card doesn't look bad at all.

Here are the predicted outcomes for UFC Fight Night: Derrick Lewis vs. Tallison Teixeira.

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#1. UFC heavyweight bout: Derrick Lewis vs. Tallison Teixeira

Next weekend's headliner sees a clash of two big heavyweights. Longtime veteran Derrick Lewis will face off with up-and-comer Tallison Teixeira. So will it be another knockout for 'The Black Beast', or can Teixeira prove he's got elite potential?

At this stage of his career, everyone knows exactly what Lewis can and can't do. 'The Black Beast' hits with ludicrous power, and if he lands on an opponent cleanly, they're basically done. He holds 15 knockouts on his record in the octagon, a UFC record, and most recently took out Rodrigo Nascimento.

However, outside of his punching power and his surprising speed, Lewis is a very limited fighter. He can power out of problematic positions on his back, but can definitely be worked over by better grapplers.

On the feet, meanwhile, he isn't hugely mobile, meaning cleaner strikers can pick him apart, especially if they can hurt his body with shots. Lewis does have seven knockout losses to his name, but for the most part - unless a powerful hitter lands flush - his chin hasn't truly been cracked yet.

At 40, then, 'The Black Beast' is almost definitely done as a title contender, but he's still got more than enough power to be a very dangerous gatekeeper. So can he slam the door shut on Teixeira?

In all honesty, we don't know all that much about the Brazilian. He's 8-0 with seven knockouts and one submission to his name, and his UFC debut - a win over Justin Tafa - lasted just 35 seconds.

From what we have seen, he's a heavy, dangerous striker, and while he hasn't really shown he knows how to use it perfectly yet, his 6ft 7in frame makes him tricky to fight against.

Basically, it's likely that this fight goes one of two ways. Teixeira will manage to keep his distance, chip away at the body of Lewis and eventually catch him to put him away for a TKO, or Lewis will land a bomb that switches his lights out.

Given Lewis' age and the wear-and-tear he's faced, it'd be tempting to go with the former scenario happening. However, Teixeira is such a wild card and at 6ft 7in, it's easy to imagine him trying to lean out of the way of big shots - something that could be fatal against Lewis.

Teixeira winning would be far better for the division, of course, but in this instance, it just feels safer to go with the more known quantity. Chances are, this fight has come a little too soon for the Brazilian.

The Pick: Lewis via first-round KO

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#2. UFC welterweight bout: Stephen 'Wonderboy' Thompson vs. Gabriel Bonfim

When fans make lists of fighters who are coming close to the end of their career, Stephen 'Wonderboy' Thompson often appears near the top.

The former welterweight title challenger was once the most feared striker in the division, a mix of slick traditional martial arts, expert timing and underrated power.

However, at the age of 42, he's now 1-4 in his last five and hasn't won since late 2022. Thompson's last fight saw him stopped by Joaquin Buckley, largely because while his technique was clearly still there, his speed had definitely begun to leave him.

So can 'Wonderboy' roll back the years here and beat Gabriel Bonfim, or will 'Marretinha' send him towards retirement?

Bonfim's record is pretty impressive, even if he's far less tested than Thompson. The Brazilian is 17-1 overall, with four of those wins coming in the octagon.

Given his lone loss came via TKO against Nicolas Dalby in what turned into a bit of a shootout, it's likely that Bonfim will want to take Thompson down. 'Marretinha' has 13 wins via submission, including three in the octagon.

Thompson's grappling is not really weak by any means, though. 'Wonderboy' was submitted by Shavkat Rakhmonov, but that's the only tapout loss on his ledger, and only Gilbert Burns and Belal Muhammad have really stifled him on the ground.

That said, as Thompson slows down, his wrestling appears to be fading slightly. His takedown defense still stands at an impressive 63%, but he gave up four takedowns to Buckley, who is hardly a noteworthy wrestler.

Bonfim is not a monstrous wrestler like Muhammad, but he's definitely got powerful takedowns in his arsenal, and his takedown accuracy stands at 76%.

The big worry for 'Marretinha', though, is that he could blow himself up attempting to take the slippery 'Wonderboy' down. In his only loss, he completely gassed himself attempting to control Dalby, and that led directly to the end.

Based on that, this fight is quite hard to pick. However, given the length of his octagon tenure and his advanced age, it's becoming hard to pick Thompson to win, particularly against a foe who isn't likely to have any interest in standing with him.

Therefore, the pick is Bonfim, probably via submission.

The Pick: Bonfim via second-round submission

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#3. UFC Fight Night: The Main Card

In a featherweight bout, Calvin Kattar takes on Steve Garcia.

This is Garcia's first big step up, as he's currently riding a five-fight win streak against some lesser opponents. Kattar, meanwhile, may be in the last chance saloon, as he's on a run of four losses, and is 1-5 in his last six.

So can 'Mean Machine' step up successfully? It definitely appears like he has the potential. A heavy hitter, Garcia has floated between 155 pounds and 145 pounds, but has had most of his success at the lower weight, where his punching power seems more effective and he's been able to get into top position to land his brutal ground-and-pound.

Kattar is an interesting test for him in that he's a very clean striker, and while he's been losing recently, he hasn't been getting stopped, with his only TKO defeat coming via injury.

In terms of style, then, if Kattar can get to his best, he could definitely find a way to pick Garcia apart. However, winning becomes a habit, and so does losing, and in that sense, it's hard to imagine Kattar rolling back the years to 2018. With that in mind, the pick is Garcia via decision.

In what's likely to be a crazy featherweight brawl, Nate Landwehr faces Morgan Charriere.

'Nate the Train' has become a bit of a cult hero to UFC fans for his bizarre promos and wild fighting style. However, he takes a ton of risks in his fights due to this style, and against heavy hitters or more skilled fighters, it has landed him in trouble. Last time out, he was stopped by Doo Ho Choi in a thriller.

Based on that, and Charriere's previous fights with the likes of Chepe Mariscal and Gabriel Miranda, this one is probably going to produce fireworks. Who wins, though? Assuming Landwehr doesn't try to change anything up, probably Charriere.

'The Last Pirate' is a very tough fighter and hits hard too, and Landwehr is very likely to leave himself open at some point. The pick is Charriere via TKO.

In a heavyweight tilt, Austen Lane faces Vitor Petrino. This is Petrino's first run at heavyweight, after losing two in a row at 205 pounds.

Prior to those two losses, 'Icao' looked like quite the prospect, winning eleven fights in a row, including four impressive wins in the octagon.

Former NFL player Lane, meanwhile, has only won once in the octagon, upsetting taekwondo stylist Robelis Despaigne last year. Unfortunately, he just doesn't seem to have the chin to survive in this division, having lost three bouts via KO.

Basically, Petrino is the more skilled and quicker fighter here. Assuming his power translates to being a heavyweight, if he's putting muscle rather than fat on his frame, then this should be his. The pick is Petrino via KO.

Finally, at light-heavyweight, Junior Tafa faces Tuco Tokkos. This fight will depend on how Tafa handles moving down to 205 pounds.

If 'The Juggernaut' makes the cut well, he ought to win. Tokkos hasn't really shown too much in his two octagon appearances, and while Tafa's record is patchy to say the least, he can definitely crack with a lot of power.

The pick, then, is Tafa via TKO, but it may be worth watching the weigh-in before betting on that outcome.

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#4. UFC Fight Night: The Prelims

Picks in bold

UFC welterweight bout: Max Griffin vs. Chris Curtis

UFC welterweight bout: Jake Matthews vs. Chidi Njokuani

UFC flyweight bout: Lauren Murphy vs. Eduarda Moura

UFC heavyweight bout: Kennedy Nzechukwu vs. Valter Walker

UFC lightweight bout: Mitch Ramirez vs. Mike Davis

UFC strawweight bout: Fatima Kline vs. Melissa Martinez